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  3. Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are

Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are

admin2013-09-26  41
问题     Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares if they are to remain relevant, but many publishers are too careful about piracy and lost sales to co-operate.
    Among the big six, only Random House and HarperCollins license e-books with most libraries. The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting.
    Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money—neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap. If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then?
    Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. Digital library catalogues are often browsed at night, from a comfortable sofa. The files disappear from the device when they are due.
    Awkwardly for publishers, buying an e-book costs more than renting one but offers little extra value. You cannot resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm. Owning a book is useful if you want to savour(品尝)it repeatedly, but who reads "Fifty Shades of Grey" twice?
    E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible e-book formats, devices and licences. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s market dominance, as the company can increasingly dictate fees and conditions.
    Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers, and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books. But the report also noted that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries, and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists, which may be what inspires people to buy.
    So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance. Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and HarperCollins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times. Hachette is engaged in some secret experiments, and the others are watching with held breath. In Britain the government will soon announce a review of the matter. The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.
What do we learn about OverDrive?
选项 A、It has the privilege to offer readers various brands of e-readers.
B、It distributes e-books and audio files to publishers.
C、Its market dominance threatens publishers and libraries.
D、It devotes itself to improving conditions of e-book market.
答案C
解析 推理判断题。本题考查对超速档的认识和理解。定位句指出，出版商和图书馆也因此对超速档在市场上独占鳖头感到担忧，因为这样一来它就可以逐渐控制费用、提出条件，故答案为C)。A)“它享有给读者提供多种电子读物的特权”，出版商也可以提供，这不是超速档所特有的优势，故排除；B)“它将电子书和音频文件分销给出版商”，由本段第二句得出，超速档从出版商那里购买版权，逻辑错误，故排除；D)“它致力于提升电子书的市场环境”，由本段最后一句可知，超速档可能逐步垄断市场，因而不利于市场竞争，故排除。
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大学英语六级

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